RSPCA Regional inspector Alistair Hills with four-month-old Roxy who is now four-and-half-months old and well on the road to recovery after she was found at Woodenbong tip after being bashed, covered in sump oil and dumped in a garbage bin. Jacklyn Wagner

Puppy powers to full health

A SMALL pup found more than two months ago among garbage at the Woodenbong tip after surviving a savage bashing now has a name - and in about a week she'll have a home as well.

The five-month-old "bitza" pup, named Roxy by her carer, has been given the all-clear by the vet who has treated her since she was discovered at the tip in early December.

RSPCA Far North Coast inspector Alistair Hills said there were some minor lingering issues with Roxy's sight and hearing, but overall she had made an amazing recovery and would likely be put up for adoption next week.

"To the average person, they probably wouldn't pick it up, but the vet picked up a couple of things, such as when she's asleep she's harder to rouse than a normal dog," he said.

Roxy would probably never amount to much of a watch dog - she's a sleeper, not a fighter.

However the point is moot. Mr Hills said the adoption centre would be "extremely fussy" when it came to selecting Roxy's new owner. After a frightening start to life, the pup could expect a fairly pampered existence from here.

For a distressingly long time it had appeared Roxy would have to be put down. She had been savagely bashed over the head before being dumped into a bin somewhere on the garbage-truck run between Mummulgum and Woodenbong. The garbage truck picked up Roxy with the rubbish and dumped her with it at the tip. By the time a tip worker found her - after hearing her muffled whimpers coming from under the rubbish - Roxy was near death.

The attack had left her with swelling to the brain, which had left her temporarily blind and deaf.

There were concerns it may have left her with lasting brain damage, but Mr Hills said Roxy appeared as bright as any pup. She was developing into a quiet, soft-natured dog without any signs of timidity from her ordeal.

"She seems to be just a normal, quiet-natured puppy who does all the things a normal dog would do," he said.

"Hopefully she doesn't remember it (the ordeal) because she took such a knock on the head."

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